As someone who has been reading a lot of queer and ethnically diverse fantasy and Sci-Fi lately, listening to this book felt like a splash of cold water. 

There’s vague mention of non- heterosexual relationships and two supporting characters are in a long term queer relationship, like a marriage. Generally this story feels very white, heteronormative, which might be exactly what some folks are looking for in fantasy stories! Just not for me. 

I felt that some of the “damsel in distress” tropes exhibited by the main character were frustrating.  I do however recognize that protection by lover is a fantasy that sounds desirable for a lot of people. In this particular context it just feels like it plays heavily into gender roles, and every mention felt so distracting, especially given how much talk there is about the main character’s power. 

I also found it to be condescending when other characters treated her interest in history and science as something strange and novel. It was hard to get through for those reasons. But I read it all and am moving into book two so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.